In the field of electronics and portable devices, an enclosure or housing may be used to protect internal components from environmental conditions. The enclosure or housing may also be used to improve the aesthetics of the device. For example, external decorations, such as textured patterns and artwork may be incorporated into the surface enclosure to improve the aesthetic look and feel of the device. In some cases, a pattern on the surface may also serve functional purposes, including providing a tactile surface or providing a marking that identifies the product or manufacturer.
In some cases, a texture or pattern is formed into the part using an injection molding process or similar forming technique. In other cases, a pattern may be applied using an etching or cutting operation the surface of the device. One drawback to some traditional processes is that a pattern can only be applied over a limited area of the surface of the device. To form a larger pattern, the device must be moved and another texture applied. In many cases, the alignment or registration of the two patterns is difficult to perform and the creation of a second patterned region may result in a seam or small gap between the patterns. If a continuous pattern is formed across a large surface using this technique, an undesirable seam or transition may be visible where one or more patterns are joined. In some cases, the pattern in the transition region may be distorted or visually distinguishable from the other portions of the continuous pattern, which may be undesirable in many applications.
Additionally, using some traditional techniques, a contoured or curved surface may also be difficult to pattern without creating distortions or visible variation within a pattern along the curvature. Also, using some traditional techniques, a patterning operation may not be able to account for irregularities or variations in the surface of the device, resulting in a pattern that may be inconsistent and potentially visually undesirable.
What is needed is a system and method of applying a pattern or texture to a surface of a device that reduces or eliminates drawbacks associated with some traditional techniques, as discussed above.